33 
FOSSILS FROM HARRISON LAKE AREA, 
BRITISH COLUMBIA 
By C. H. Crickmay, University of California at Los Angeles 
Illustrations 
Page 
Plates VIII-XXIII. Illustrations of fossils 82-113 
Figure 1. Index map showing positions of fossiliferous localities in the 
vicinity of Harnson lake, B.C 36 
INTRODUCTION 
This report contains a brief account of the palaeontological materials 
acquired during a geological study of the country adjacent to Harrison 
lake, British Columbia; made for the Geological Survey, by the writer, 
during the summers of the years 1924 and 1926. The writer had no 
assistant in 1924. In 1926 he was ably assisted by James R. Pollock. 
The writer is indebted to Mr. J. Forsyth of the Provincial Library at 
Victoria, to Mr. C. Brakenridge, City Engineer of Vancouver, and to Mr. 
L. A. Agassiz, of Agassiz, for courtesies extended to him and information 
freely given during the course of the work. He is especially indebted to 
Professor J. P. Smith for invaluable advice freely given on many occasions. 
The area under consideration lies in the heart of the southern extremity 
of the Coast range of British Columbia. Its southern boundary is Fraser 
river. The other boundaries are controlled by the distance possible to 
cover in one-day trips from the shores of the lake and river. Harrison 
lake lies in a large, fiord-like valley adjoining the Fraser on its north side. 
It is 1 to 4 miles wide and 38 miles long; its general trend is south-south- 
east. Its mean surface level is 30 feet above mean sea-level. It is fed at 
its north end by the turbulent waters of Lillooet river, and drained from its 
west side near the south end by the slow-moving Harrison river. Lillooet 
river and Harrison lake occupy one large valley which joins the Fraser 
valley at right angles. South of the lake the drainage is obstructed by 
moraines, so that the lake is drained through a narrow side valley which 
has been so modified that it now carries the entire overflow of the lake. 
Numerous streams, of the size referred to in the west as “creeks,’^ enter the 
lake along its shores, at steep gradients. 
The topography is entirely mountainous except for the small areas of 
flat land forming the bottoms of the larger valleys. In the southern half 
of the district the relief averages 4,000 feet (maximum 5,100), and though 
the slopes are steep the peaks are rounded. In the northern, the relief is 
about 5,500 feet (maximum 7,500); the slopes are steep; the peaks, sharp; 
mountain glaciers abound. A thick forest composed mainly of Douglas 
fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar covers all the land, except 
excessively steep slopes and “cleared” areas, up to an altitude of 4,000 
feet. Above this the trees are much dwarfed, and few survive above 5,000 
feet. 
The shores of Harrison lake are principally low, rocky cliffs. Beaches 
form a very small proportion of the whole. The lake is deep, averaging 
over 100 fathoms throughout most of its length; however, at the south end 
